2008 Woodie Awards
McDonnell goes out with class
Razorback Road
Matt Jones
Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Sports
Only one thought came to mind Monday watching John McDonnell announce his retirement - class.
It has been with class that McDonnell has conducted himself throughout his tenure at Arkansas, and it was with class McDonnell announced his intent to leave Monday after 36 years of unmatched success.
One would think for a coach with 42 national titles, 83 conference crowns, hundreds of all-Americans and literally a world full of respect, the twilight of McDonnell's career would be fit for a king.
But the last two years have been anything but a walk in the park for the most successful coach in the history of sports. With NCAA sanctions imposed against the track and field program for the only time in his almost four decades at the school, McDonnell put off retirement two years ago to see the program through the penalties.
Former Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles described McDonnell's career in three words: "Integrity, dignity and humility."
McDonnell's integrity was evident through the NCAA hiccup two years ago being his only, his dignity shown through sticking through the penalties when most would have tucked and run, and his humility in keeping the people around him first regardless of the number of championship rings and banners he accumulated.
But McDonnell was never expected to take the program to such heights.
Broyles hired McDonnell in 1978 to take over a relatively new program. At the time, the Irish-born McDonnell was a graduate assistant at the school, but because that title didn't pay the bills, he worked as a shop teacher down the road at Greenland High School.
When McDonnell asked Broyles of the expectations of the track program, he was told to keep the program in the upper half of the Southwest Conference, and if he won a national title every 15 years, Broyles would be "happy."
In addressing the crowd Monday, it was evident Broyles was pleased with his investment all those years ago.
That investment has led Arkansas to be known universally as the collegiate track capital of the world with two state-of-the-art facilities that are second-to-none.
The only thing McDonnell might have done wrong is win too much. After all, a year without a national title in track is often met with questions of the program's demise. But you can't win them all, no matter how close the Razorbacks have come to doing so.
McDonnell isn't done just yet. Numbers 84 and 43 are still not out of the question this year.
Even if those championships aren't won this time around, it's only a matter of time before they are. A solid foundation will stand the test of time, and McDonnell's success is as concrete as they come.
Matt Jones is the sports editor of The Arkansas Traveler.
It has been with class that McDonnell has conducted himself throughout his tenure at Arkansas, and it was with class McDonnell announced his intent to leave Monday after 36 years of unmatched success.
One would think for a coach with 42 national titles, 83 conference crowns, hundreds of all-Americans and literally a world full of respect, the twilight of McDonnell's career would be fit for a king.
But the last two years have been anything but a walk in the park for the most successful coach in the history of sports. With NCAA sanctions imposed against the track and field program for the only time in his almost four decades at the school, McDonnell put off retirement two years ago to see the program through the penalties.
Former Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles described McDonnell's career in three words: "Integrity, dignity and humility."
McDonnell's integrity was evident through the NCAA hiccup two years ago being his only, his dignity shown through sticking through the penalties when most would have tucked and run, and his humility in keeping the people around him first regardless of the number of championship rings and banners he accumulated.
But McDonnell was never expected to take the program to such heights.
Broyles hired McDonnell in 1978 to take over a relatively new program. At the time, the Irish-born McDonnell was a graduate assistant at the school, but because that title didn't pay the bills, he worked as a shop teacher down the road at Greenland High School.
When McDonnell asked Broyles of the expectations of the track program, he was told to keep the program in the upper half of the Southwest Conference, and if he won a national title every 15 years, Broyles would be "happy."
In addressing the crowd Monday, it was evident Broyles was pleased with his investment all those years ago.
That investment has led Arkansas to be known universally as the collegiate track capital of the world with two state-of-the-art facilities that are second-to-none.
The only thing McDonnell might have done wrong is win too much. After all, a year without a national title in track is often met with questions of the program's demise. But you can't win them all, no matter how close the Razorbacks have come to doing so.
McDonnell isn't done just yet. Numbers 84 and 43 are still not out of the question this year.
Even if those championships aren't won this time around, it's only a matter of time before they are. A solid foundation will stand the test of time, and McDonnell's success is as concrete as they come.
Matt Jones is the sports editor of The Arkansas Traveler.
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